We present a case of a 42-year-old female who presented to our institution with a small bowel obstruction and had emergentsurgical decompression. Thirteen days postoperatively, the patient became tachycardic and had worsening epigastric pain.Electrocardiogram showed significant ST-segment elevations in leads II, III, aVF, and V3–V6, suggesting the possibility of acuteinferolateral myocardial infarction. Subsequent workup revealed the cause of the ST-elevations to be due to recurrent small bowelobstruction. Although intra-abdominal causes of ST-elevation have been reported, our case may be the first to be associated withsmall bowel obstruction.
1. Introduction
Acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction is a medical emer-gency and is typically associated with high cardiac mortalityif brisk intervention is not undertaken. It is important,however, to understand that there are several conditionsthat may mimic acute ST-elevation myocardial infarctionand they should be considered as a differential diagnosisespecially in the correct clinical scenario. Our case highlightsthe importance of understanding the different pathologies,namely, gastrointestinal pathologies, that can be presented asbeing similar to acute myocardial infarction.
2. Case Report
A 42-year-old female with history of endometriosis, statusposthysterectomy a number of years prior, presented toour institution complaining of 3-day history of nausea andvomiting. Computed tomography of the abdomen showedbowel obstruction of the distal ileum. The patient wastaken for emergent exploratory laparotomy for adhesiolysisand decompression. Postoperatively, during her recovery,the patient started having watery diarrhea and was beingmonitored on telemetry for persistent sinus tachycardia.Despite intravenous fluids and electrolyte repletion, her con-dition deteriorated. On day thirteen, ST-elevation MI code
was called after an electrocardiogram (Figure 1) suggestedthe possibility of acute inferolateral myocardial infarction.The patient described epigastric discomfort and shortnessof breath but denied chest pain. An immediate bedsideTransthoracic Echocardiogram showed predominantly nor-mal left ventricular systolic function; however, inferior wallhypokinesis was noted. Subsequent cardiac catheterizationshowed normal coronary arteries (Figures 2 and 3) and nor-mal left ventricular contractility by ventriculogram. Serialcardiac enzymes were normal. Alternate causes for the ECGchanges were entertained at this point.Thereafter, the patienthad a repeat CT scan of the abdomen, which showed severedistention of the stomach and proximal small bowel andrecurrent obstruction at the level of distal ileum (Figures 4and 5). The patient was again taken for emergent exploratorylaparotomy and decompression and this time with resectionand anastomosis. A total of 2800 cc of fecal material wasdrained from the small bowel at the time of decompression.Repeat postoperative electrocardiogram (Figure 6) showednormalization of ST segments.
3. Discussion
ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction is an emergencyduring which patient outcomes are directly related to timely
Hindawi Publishing CorporationCase Reports in SurgeryVolume 2015, Article ID 739147, 3 pageshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/739147
2 Case Reports in Surgery
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intervention and revascularization. However, in cases wherepatients do not present with typical chest pain, other diag-nostic tools such as serial cardiac markers and imagingmodalities can help elucidate other causes of ECG findingssuggesting acute myocardial infarct. A number of diseasepresentations may mimic ST-elevation myocardial infarctionon ECG [1]. Namely, the most common causes are acutepericarditis, myocarditis, coronary spasm, traumatic braininjury, acute aortic dissection, and ventricular aneurysm.
Few cases of intra-abdominal pathology causing ST-elevation on ECG have been reported. These conditionshave been related to pancreas and gallbladder disease [2–4],esophageal pathology [5–9], splenic rupture [10], and hiatalhernia [11]. To date, our case may be the first reported caseof small bowel obstruction as a cause for significant ST-elevation on electrocardiogram mimicking acute myocardialinfarction. In our case, the patient developed inferolateral ST-segment elevation on a 12-lead ECG which resolved rapidlyafter surgical decompression of intestinal distension. It isbelieved that the intra-abdominal distension resulted in thecompression of the diaphragmatic surface of the heart andled to the subsequent ECG changes.
Case Reports in Surgery 3
Conflict of Interests
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.
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